(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Mint moth (Pyrausta aurata) on Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Lemon Balm – A cup of tea with my lovely Melissa
I've
started drinking lemon balm tea in afternoons.
Now I've grown lemon
balm in my garden for years and always enjoyed the smell. On a
summer's day, it is something quite special. But only this year have
I taken a couple of fresh sprigs, steeped them in hot water and
drunk the results.
Oh, it is lovely.
Apparently,
the word Balm is an abbreviation of Balsam, the chief of
sweet-smelling oils. It is so called from its honeyed sweetness It
was highly esteemed by Paracelsus a sixteenth century alchemist of
genius. He believed in its ability to revive.
Paracelsus,
as Manly Hall has said, gained his knowledge "not from
long-coated pedagogues but from dervishes in Constantinople, witches,
gypsies, and sorcerers, who invoked spirits and captured the rays of
the celestial bodies in dew; of whom it is said that he cured the
incurable, gave sight to the blind, cleansed the leper, and even
raised the dead, and whose memory could turn aside the plague."
So
clearly someone worth listening to.
The
London Dispensary (1696)
says: 'An essence of Balm, given in Canary wine, every morning will
renew youth, strengthen the brain, relieve languishing nature and
prevent baldness.'
John Evelyn wrote: 'Balm is sovereign for the
brain, strengthening the memory and powerfully chasing away
melancholy.' Balm steeped in wine we are told again, 'comforts the
heart and driveth away melancholy and sadness.'
In olden days, a spirit of
Balm, combined with lemon-peel, nutmeg and angelica root, enjoyed a
great reputation under the name of Carmelite water, being deemed
highly useful against nervous headache and neuralgic affections.
Gerard wrote: 'It is profitably planted where bees are kept. The
hives of bees being rubbed with the leaves of balm, cause the bees
to keep together, and cause others to come with them.' And again
quoting Pliny, 'When they are strayed away, they do find their way
home by it.'
The
leaves of balm applied externally, have been considered to be a cure
for the bites of venomous beasts and the stings of scorpions. It has
certainly long been recognized that balsamic oils of aromatic plants
make excellent surgical dressings.
The
Greek name for lemon balm is Melissa
officinalis. The
name Melissa is from the Greek word signifying 'bee,' which reflects
the attraction the flowers have for those insects because of the honey
they produce from it.
Lemon
balm is often used as a flavouring in ice
cream
and
herbal
teas,
both hot and iced,
often in combination with other herbs
such
as spearmint.
It can be paired with fruit dishes, used in fish dishes and is the
key ingredient in lemon balm pesto.
The
crushed leaves, when rubbed on the skin, are said to be a repellant
for mosquitoes.
Lemon
balm is also claimed to have antibacterial
and
antiviral
properties.
At
least one study is said to have found it to be effective at reducing
stress and there are claims that it may have a role in the treatment
of Alzheimers
Now,
I'm not a doctor and I have not seen the proof of any of these
claims. But I do know that on a lovely, hot afternoon in May it
makes a dreamy and refreshing drink. I do recommend you grow it, for
its scent if nothing else – although if it likes you it will spread
a little too quickly.
So now I'm off to make my lemon balm tea.
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